Between the impending holidays, job stresses and an uncomfortable mattress, my body is feeling tightly wound these days. While a return to yoga is definitely in order, today's dreary, cold and rainy weather kept me safely tucked inside. To alleviate my aches, I turned to a more passive approach, namely Payot's Cristaux Mineraux Relaxing Bath Salt.
Simply drop a generous capful into a hot bath and let these mineral-rich, aromatherapy salts get to work. They not only soothe aching muscles (really - salts draw the impurities from the body), they also leave skin soft, moisturized and smelling of a trip to the spa.
Payot can be difficult to find in the States, but visit www.fragrancenet.com for a great assortment of products.
FTC Disclosure: Sample Provided for Review
To call my skin an "issue" of mine would be a grand understatement. These days, it's feeling not only tempermental (welcome to breakout city, population 1) but also insanely sensitive and dehydrated. To be honest, I'm not sure what the issue is but I do have one solution on hand - mark.'s new Calm Yourself Hydrating Mask.
With lemon, orange, sea moss, cucumber and wheat germ extracts, along with aloe vera, green tea and power moisturizer sodium hyaluronate crosspolymer (say it three times fast, I dare you), this mask not only hydrates the skin, it also cools and reduces skin redness and puffiness. It feels like heaven when applied - the cool gel instantly refreshes and it rinses off easy-peasy with a bit of water.
Snag a tube for just $7 through your local mark. rep or via this link.
When I was a pre-teen, Bath & Body Works Sun Ripened Raspberry was IT. All of the girls that I knew spritzed and slathered it all over their bodies in the locker room after gym class while I pouted that I didn't have a bottle of my own. BBW has come a long way since then and a recent summer addition, the True Blue Morocco Collection, truly brings the scents to a new level of complexity and sophistication.
My current love is the Saffron & Fig Shower Gel. The relaxing scent of golden saffron (the world's most expensive spice) mixes and melds with the aroma of rich black figs, eastern spices and just a dash of Moroccan clementine and lemon. Packed with conditioning shea butter, the gel leaves skin gently moisturized.
You can snag a bottle of your own for $15 at Bath & Body Works stores nationwide or via this link.
Summer sandals wreak havoc on my toosies, despite bi-weekly pedicures. So, to maintain my situation between salon visits, I've been relying on some yummy at home foot products, including the Farmhouse Fresh Honey Heel Glaze ($24).
Packaged in a beautiful quilted glass jar with a brush applicator included, this honey based glaze is both moisturizing and exfoliating, thanks to aloe leaf juice, pineapple and papaya fruit extracts. And of course, it goes without saying that this product smells PHENOMENAL - like honey with a spash of sweet cloves and zingy cinnamon.
Other products from Farmhouse Fresh are just as delightful, so check out the site at www.farmhousefreshgoods.com.
The good folks over at Pangea want you to get your skincare routine in shape this summer. Their new Radiance Gift Set ($100) tucks the very best of the ecocentric skincare line into a cardboard box that can be planted to sprout into a spruce tree!
The star products included in the new Radiance Gift Set are packed with plant-based ingredients, powerful antioxidants and key minerals, vitamins and essential oils that work to balance, nurture and nourish your skin from the inside out. My two must-tries are the Egyptian Calendula & Blood Orange Facial Cleanser (which really does the trick for my sensitive combination skin) and the NEW Turkish Rose & White Tea Eye Cream (it smells amazing and moisturizes beautifully!)
To shop Pangea or to snag the Radiance Gift Set (bonus, the site is offering free shipping from now through June 15), visit www.pangeaorganics.com.
Chamomile tea and counting sheep may be traditional ways of winding down and settling in for the night but the folks at Sleep Scentsations had a better idea.
Their scented, disposable pillow liners are infused with delightful aromatherapy blends like Fresh Cut Grass, White Tea & Lily and a favorite of mine, Day at the Beach. Simply pop one inside your pillow case (they have an adhesive backing) and breathe deeply - it's a really simple but wonderful and relaxing spa experience for the bedroom.
Sleep Scentsations scents are bold but never overwhelming and are said to last 2-5 days (though each of the liners that I tried lasted 5+ days easily.)
Snatch up a set ($19.99/8) for yourself at www.sleepscentsations.com.
If there's anything I need more of in my life these days, it's positive energy. Illume's new Happiology collection fits the bill. The full bath, body and candle line is designed to impart a bit of sunshine into your day through the use of uplifting fragrance blends and zippy, Anthropologie-esque packaging.
I have two favorites from the collection - the hand blown Reed Diffusers ($36) are one of the few home diffusers that have actually released scent in my experience- and the Sunshower scent, an uplifting bouquet of sparkling bergamot, dewy moss and white lilies is just perfect for Spring.
I'm also really loving the perfectly portable Rollerball Perfumes ($16) - the natural oil bases hold fragrance nicely and each of the Happiology blends wear just as well as perfumes as they do as home scents.
Shop the Illume Happiology collection at www.illumecandles.com.
Beauty gadgets have come a LONG way in the past few years, breaking new ground in zit zapping and hair removal. In May, the new Silk’n SensEpil at-home laser hair removal device ($499) launches exclusively at Sephora/Sephora.com.
FDA cleared, the Silk'n SensEpil (not the catchiest name, I must say) is billed as the safest device for laser hair removal. It incorporates a built in skin sensor that tests the users’ skin type before the laser will activate for use. In as little as three months, 80% of Silk’n SensEpil users experienced noticeable hair reduction on arms, legs, underarms and bikini area.
While $499 might seem like a pricey pill to swallow, it's downright affordable when compared to professional laser hair removal, which can run into the thousands. What do you think? Would you give the Silk'n SensEpil a try or do you plan to leave laser hair removal to the professionals?
Work and personal stresses catch up to me on a weekly basis. And while I'd love to indulge in a monthly massage, it's kind of a budget-buster. t spheres' clever aromatherapy-infused massage balls are the perfect intermediary.
These sleek little balls come packaged in a travel bag, along with a mini-atomizer available in three different aromatherapy blends to re-infuse the fragrances. Try Perk Up - a peppermint and grapefruit mix to improve concentration and circulation or Pep-Up Mint for tired feet and hands or Inner Beauty, a rose-geranium blend that's calming.
The massage balls can be used hot or cold, depending on your needs. Try microwaving them for two minutes for a heated massage or keeping them in the freezer for headache relief.
Created by massage therapist Stephanie Whittier, t spheres are super simple to use. You can simply roll wherever you feel tension or tightness.
t spheres apparently have quite a celebrity following - again, not too surprising considering how travel/tour friendly they are. To pick up your own set, check out www.tspheres.com.
If you're the type who likes to slice up a cool cucumber for some eye relaxation, meet Eye Slices. These high tech and disposable gel packs deliver a special blend of active ingredients to the eye area - along with the same cooling relief that you can get from the produce aisle.
The key ingredients in Eye Slices are an Aloe Ferox gel, which has detoxifying and rejuvenating properties, along with Regu-Age, with protein peptides that reduce puffiness, dark circles and wrinkles.
The gel packs don't require any refrigeration and can be reused up to 10 times. They also come in a nifty little travel case - perfect for a long flight.
Visit www.eyeslices.com for more information.
